Black Mahakala
- Inventory number:
- Ж-1362
- Author:
- Unknown
- Creation Date:
- 19th century
- Place of Creation:
- Buryatia
- Provenance:
- Received from a private individual
- Technique:
- painting
- Size:
- 33.5 x 27 cm
- Material:
- canvas, mineral paint
- Type of object:
- Thangka
- Subject:
- Buddhism
Mahakala (Sanskrit) or the Great Black One is a wrathful protector of the teachings, also known as a Sakhyusan; he is the head of this iconographic group. He is considered one of the incarnations of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. At the center of the thangka is Mahākāla, depicted with a blue body, one face, and disheveled hair adorned with a vajra – the symbol of Akṣobhya. He wears a crown of five skulls on his head, and his face has three eyes. Mahākāla is shown with six arms and is trampling the demon Vighnāntaka, who creates obstacles.
